Hafiz Mammadov ( az, Hafiz Məmmədov, script=Latn, italic=no; born 2 December 1964 in Nakhchivan, in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

) is an Azerbaijani businessman who founded and owns the Baghlan Group. He used to own football clubs FC Baku and RC Lens.

Biography

Hafiz Mammadov founded the Baghlan Group in 1998 in

. The Baghlan Group is a company that specialises in oil, gas, construction and transportation, mainly in

. Though not related, Hafiz's very strong links to the family of the controversial former transport minister,

Ziya Mammadov Ziya Mammadov Arzuman oglu ( az, Ziya Məmmədov Arzuman oğlu) is an Azerbaijani politician and billionaire who served as the Minister of Transportation. BBC News has described him as among "the wealthiest and most powerful in the governing elite ...

, has been cited as one of Baghlan's major commercial advantages allowing the group to grow enormously and for Hafiz Mammadov to become a multi-millionaire.

Football

Mammadov used his millions to invest in his passion for football. In 2004, he became owner of local football club FC Baku, a team in the

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is conteste ...

. In 2013, he expanded bought RC Lens in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Lens. Wearing the Land of Fire logo, Lens gained promotion that season under Mammadov's ownership from

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

. Hafiz also owned shares in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

club

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

and during the 2012–13 and 2013-14 the club enjoyed very successful seasons wearing the same Land of Fire logo. On 10 June 2014, Mammadov agreed to take ownership of another European football club - this time it was the English Championship side

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. Mammadov looked to take over from the current Chairman Milan Mandarić. The bid for SWFC was rumoured to have been around €50 million however, at the beginning of September, due to Mammadov's failure to meet financial obligations and complete the takeover, Milan Mandarić called the deal off. According to former President of

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

he directly intervened in favor of the Football Club of Lens. This was due to financial difficulties in Azerbaijan which forced a number of players and personnel from

Baku FC FC Baku ( az, "Bakı" Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Baku that has been an amateur club since 2016. Prior to that, Baku played 18 seasons in the Azerbaijan Premier League, winning the championship twice and earning the N ...

to seek new clubs, leaving the club's future uncertain. Later that year, Mammadov's failure to provide promised investment of around £4 million to fund transfers for Lens resulted in Lens fans calling for a boycott of the club's main shirt sponsor and saw the club threatened with relegation to League 2, but while some press reports suggested Mammadov was in serious trouble, others suggested a complex web of oligarch connections might allow the situation to be salvaged.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mammadov, Hafiz People from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Azerbaijani businesspeople Azerbaijani billionaires 1964 births Living people Azerbaijani investors RC Lens non-playing staff